Double, Double, Toil, & Trouble
by Aya8
Summary: Sequel to The Seven Deadly Sins. In preparation for being turned into a vampire, Mary-Lynnette goes for a check up only to get some surprising results that end up halting the transformation.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Double, Double, Toil, & Trouble

Summary: Sequel to _The Seven Deadly Sins_. In preparation for being turned into a vampire, Mary-Lynnette goes for a check up only to get some surprising results that end up halting the transformation.

Disclaimers/Spoilers/Warnings: The idea came from Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer, characters do not belong to me.

Chapter One:

She felt the blood drain from her face, her eyes blinking rapidly as she listened to the soothing voice.

Had she heard right? Things could be easily misunderstood over the phone.

"I'm pregnant?" Mary-Lynnette whispered into the phone, clutching it to her ear as she leaned against the wall of the kitchen.

"About six weeks," Dr. Matheson responded with confirmation.

"Six weeks," she repeated, shaking her head for clarification. "Pregnant," she mumbled, rolling the idea around in her head, contemplating that word, that word that would cause so many complications. "Six weeks pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Are you serious!" she screeched as it finally set in. "Dr. Matheson, you've been our family doctor for a while and I would completely understand Mark getting you to play a joke, but now is the time to pop out and say 'ha, I was just kidding.'"

"I'm afraid I'm not. We can talk about the options you wish to pursue. You're young, unmarried, and the pregnancy is still at that point were termination is an option, there's also adoption, or-"

"I'll be keeping the baby," she interrupted. She hadn't even had to think about it. They'd never talked about having kids and she knew once she was changed the possibility would no longer be an option, but since it happened, well abortion was out of the question and adoption…she just couldn't do that, not when she loved the man she'd made the baby with.

"You'll be a great mother Mary-Lynnette. I have some specialists that will be able to guide you through what you need and what needs to be done," he spoke encouragingly, but paused. She could hear the hesitation in his voice. "Ah-Mary-Lynnette, I feel I should let you know there's something very strange about this pregnancy…"

Her heart dropped to her stomach and she slammed the phone down feeling the panic consume her. "No shit," she whispered to it, "the fathers a vampire."

How was she going to find a midwife that knew about the Night World and approved of human soul mates? It was a disaster waiting to happen.

A partial scream escaped her at the sudden ringing of the phone. She stared at the silver cover, focusing in on the caller id. Dr Matheson.

"Oh come on," she whispered, biting her lower lip before reaching for it, pulling it out of the cradle. "Sorry about that, I dropped the phone."

"Here I thought you hung up on me," he said dryly. "Not the first time I've been hung up on."

She cleared her throat nervously. "Sorry. You were saying?"

"You have abnormally high HcG levels."

"Uh-is that good or bad?"

"HcG is what people call the pregnancy hormone and at six weeks it's almost double what it should be," he informed her.

Mary-Lynnette sighed. "What exactly does that mean?"

"You may be pregnant with twins. An ultrasound with your gynecologist will confirm that."

It was like the world was slipping out from under her, like she was on a never ending upside down rollercoaster, and her chest tightened with fear. "I can't breathe," she gasped into the phone, falling back against the white wall that was next to the stand where the phone cradle was.

"Find a place to sit down and remember it's only a possibility. I have a list of some suggested gynecologists-"

"Um, no actually that's okay. I have one thank you."

There was a pause before he spoke again. "Mary-Lynnette if you need anything, as a friend of the family, please don't hesitate to call."

She took a deep, shaking breath before answering. "I won't. Thank you," she whispered the last part, then carefully set the phone into the cradle.

Dazed, she walked up to her room, slowly shutting the door behind her before she went to her bed. Lying on her back, she gazed up at the white ceiling, her hands resting against her belly, occasionally rubbing then stopping.

At least money wasn't going to be a problem, since Ash had just inherited money from a man he only spoke to for a few hours.

"Maybe the old man was psychic and knew we'd need the help," she spoke to herself as she turned to her side, her arm cradling her head as it leaned against the pillow.

How could she be pregnant? She felt sick to her stomach most of the time, had almost completely lost her appetite, and the only other symptoms she knew of pregnancy was mood swings, she's always had that. What was worrying was that the thought of any type of food, even her favorites, would make her run to the bathroom, that it had been like that for about five of the six weeks of pregnancy. She barely ate anything now and when she did she'd throw it up. She was losing weight, not gaining, and she couldn't help but think that if she was pregnant the baby inside her was vampire.

Vampires want blood, need blood, crave it, but Ash ate human food too. She scowled, tucking her head deeper into her arm, towards the sheets on her bed. "So what gives?"

She wasn't ready to tell Ash, because no matter how much he loved her men and babies weren't always the best mix. Being soul mates perhaps gave a little more advantage for her, but if Ash wasn't ready and decided to leave her, Mary-Lynnette didn't think she could do it on her own. She was a strong woman, she could do anything by herself, she could raise these babies for sure, but it was the loss of a soul mate that worried her the most, and that is what she couldn't survive.

What was she going to do? She needed more information about vampire births and the only way to do that was to go to a vampire. Ash was out of the question, for right now, that immediately excluded his sisters, because she couldn't risk them slipping. Mary-Lynnette barely recalled Ash mentioning a cousin that soul mated before him, James something. That he was in Las Vegas with a made vampire night lord named Thierry. It sounded very scary at the time and still did as she contemplated how she could get in touch with James.

Perhaps she could talk Ash into a trip to Las Vegas.

To Be Continued…

For this and future chapters if I get anything wrong about what it's like to be pregnant let me know and I'll see how I can work it into a vampire preganancy. I hope this chapter was enjoyed.

Sneak peak:

Ash agrees to the trip.

Mare talks to James who talks to Poppy who does a spell that causes havoc (hilarity ensues)


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to:

Dantes-Silent-Huntress – Ash isn't going to be finding out for awhile, though I'm trying to subtly put in his suspicions.

INessie – I hope you continue to like what you read! Thanks for commenting on my stories!

Nightworld Fan – I know when I'm reading other stuff I get so into I don't review, so it's cool. Thanks for taking the time to review now though.

Sprog101 – Me too! *_-

Guest 1

Guest 2

Ur Sarcastic Bitch XD

Fanatic4Fiction

Thorchick1993 – hopefully you'll think it's as great as the first one!

Interlude23

Chapter Two:

Ash opened her bedroom door, seeming to pause slightly in the bit of sun light streaming from the window, stretching like a lazy cat in his golden glory before quickly flopping down onto her bed, right next to her. He was so close she could smell the blood he'd just consumed and it was tantalizing her senses, making her crave something she'd never had before.

"So Vegas? That's where you want to take a trip? Mare, I was thinking France or Switzerland, for like, you know, months. You aren't even old enough to gamble," he supplied the last statement as an afterthought.

Mary-Lynnette pulled away from him and the intoxicating smell coming from his mouth to fold her hands across her chest and raise eyebrow at his last comment. "Neither are you."

He chuckled, his ever-changing eyes sparking with a mischievous look that made her want to kick him and he reached out to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I have my ways."

"Yeah, I'll bet you do."

Ash paused, his eyes searching her face as he trailed a finger down her cheek, then over her lips, outlining them before leaning forward to peck then suckle them.

She pulled away before the fluttery anticipation of more got too much to handle in her stomach. She needed to stay on track, this was important. Four lives depended on it. "Ash, I'm serious. I want to go to Las Vegas. Didn't you say there was someone that let people like us stay with him?"

Ash raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioningly look. "People like us?"

"Soul mates, human and vampire soul mates, you know since the Night World looks down on humans," she spoke, and then bit her bottom lip at the slight trembling in her voice.

Another fear she'd contemplated, the Night World barely tolerated humans from what she understood, so how would they handle a mixed breed? Another issue, should she feel guilty for thinking of her babies as mixed breeds? She really needed help, from someone other than Ash and his family.

The severity of the situation was starting to get to her. It had only amplified the minute she'd gotten off the phone with Ash asking him to come over. She kept thinking how she would be able to keep this from him because all he really had to do was look into her mind. The telepathy link between them was strong, the strongest Ash had ever known, or so he said.

"Mare, if you want to go to Vegas, we'll go, if you want to go to Greece we'll go. We'll go anywhere you want to go," he smiled gently. "Everyone else has got to go somewhere else," his voice so firm and serious Mary-Lynnette allowed the sweetness of the comment to fill her and she supplied him with a small smile, "but you and I can go where ever."

A tiny weight lifted at the realization that he agreed. She'd be able to do more research on this and not have to worry Ash, not have to worry about him leaving. A part of her felt irrational about it, but then she reminded herself in today's society it was acceptable for a mother to be single. Rarely did that man stay when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant.

He's your soul mate, connected to you by a supernatural silver cord, he's not gonna leave you, her thoughts argued and conflicted with each other.

"So what did the doctor say?"

That miniscule minute of relief evaporated and her stomach dropped. "What? What do you mean?" She cringed at the panic laced sounds coming from her mouth, at the way Ash flinshed back slightly, most likely due to the loud piercing tone to her voice.

"For changing you into a vampire," he paused as if he wanted the idea to settle in. "I want you to be as healthy as possible when we do this, nothing can go wrong. If you have a cough, we're not doing it until it's gone. I'm very serious about this Mare."

He'd given a similar speech when she'd asked why he wanted her to have a checkup. Her body would be at war, her blood specifically, and physically being able to handle such a shock to the system was key to the transition, which was why the younger one changed the better.

"Everything checks out," she managed.

He grinned. "Then when do you want to start? Do you want to do it in Vegas? Or now?" he whispered the last part seductively in her ear, with one of his hands slipping beneath the waistband of her shorts.

"Actually, I-I want to wait."

He blinked, clearly stunned at the sudden mind changing of hers. He shook his head, looking as if he was trying to understand. "Put you're the one that agreed, you wanted to do it just a days ago. You were excited."

She reached forward and caressed the side of his face. "And I still want to do it. I just think we're going too fast."

Ash pulled away visibly upset as he tried to refrain from scowling at her. "I don't want to wait," he whispered, glancing down at his hand, watching it fiddling with the comforter on her bed.

Mary-Lynnette frowned and dropped her hand, which had been left airborne when he'd jerked away. "I understand you don't want to wait, but _can_ you wait?"

With his jaw set he shifted towards her, reaching for her to pull her into him. "I can wait, but I want to know why? Are you scared?"

Honestly, she wasn't afraid, not at all, but it was the story she was going to go with. She trusted Ash completely and fate obviously wanted them to be together so though she had no real reason to be afraid, she made one.

"I am," she spoke carefully, searching his face, so close to him that the pang of hunger shot into her gut as she captured a whiff of the sweet and spicy smell of blood. That was followed by a whole different hunger, a need to be as close to him as possible, but that was how they'd gotten into the current mess.

She took a deep breath, calming her sudden need to bite into his lower lip and suck. Mary-Lynnette gritted her teeth as she continued. "My body will be dying, shutting down for a period of time. I'll be dead and I think, more than being afraid really, that what I really want is to experience more things while I'm alive."

"You'll be alive," he argued, clucking his tongue with an impatient quality she knew he was trying to contain.

Mary-Lynnette shrugged. "Wrong choice of words, I want to experience certain things as a human."

She paused, imagining herself raising an eyebrow at that comment. In reality that was closer to the truth than the fear. She couldn't be a vampire and expect to have these babies growing inside of her. It made her feel a little better for omitting the truth.

He sighed heavily and dropped his forehead to hers, gazing deeply into her eyes, "How long?"

She shrugged, but leaned closer into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "A year, no longer, I swear."

Ash chuckled half-heartedly. "At least I won't have to slay dragons this time."

"Are you kidding? I expect you to be my knight in shining armor for eternity, you can't slack off now," she teased before placing a chaste kiss against his lips.

When she pulled away she licked the bottom of her lip, wondering if the aroma of blood from his mouth would seep into her lips.

"Hey Ash," Mary-Lynnette started, thinking it would be a perfect opportunity to get information. "Your cousin, the one that gave you that warning when you kidnapped his soul mate,"

"Yes? I didn't really kidnap, kidnap her by the way."

Mary-Lynnette snorted. "You did, I've come to that conclusion from your description babe. Anyhow, what was her name?"

"Poppy?"

"If she's your cousin's soul mate that you kidnapped…"

Ash snorted, disliking the last word used, "Her names Poppy, why?"

Shrugging she reached down to entwine her fingers with his. "Can I get her number? I think we'd have a lot to talk about. She was human before she changed for starters not to mention her soul mate is related to you. I'm sure you and your cousin are more alike than either of you'd like to admit."

He shook his head. "No. That's absurd."

Mary-Lynnette chuckled and patted him on the side of his face, "of course dear," she said playfully trying to sound like the all American Stepford housewife.

Ash licked his bottom lip and trailed his eyes up and down, interest sparking in them. "I actually quite like that."

She snorted and shook her head. "Oh no," she warned.

"Let's roll play," he suggested, fully pulling her into his lap so that she faced him and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I don't think so stud."

"Oh come on," he cajoled, rubbing her sides suggestively.

She shook her head. "No!"

His hands trailed down further sliding under her ass to push her slightly up so that he could bring her middle closer against his stomach, nestling her ass successfully against his growing erection. "Please," he pleaded.

Mary-Lynnette tried to pull away. "Absolutely not," she cried out, trying to avert her gaze from his as she felt the heat spread through her cheeks.

"We could get an apron. Put your hair in a bun, a little flour on your cheeks. Wearing just the apron you could walk up to me with a tray of goodies in your hands," he supplied, his voice dropping down an octave.

"You're so dirty," she laughed, continuing to shake her head.

"I'm so horny! Really I'd never thought the whole housewife thing would do it for me, but it's almost better than my nurse fantasy."

"Nurse? Do I even want to know?"

He shrugged. "It's privileged information, well unless you're willing to do it."

Mary-Lynnette smiled suddenly as that gentle feeling of love and happiness washed over her. She slipped her hands down his chest until they trailed down his thighs, then she dropped her upper body backwards onto the bed, forcing Ash to let go, but she kept her legs wrapped tightly around him. "I'll tell you what, you write a list of all of your fantasy. Choose twelve and we'll do one every month."

Silence really could be deafening Mary-Lynnette decided as she looked up at him, watching him watch her. The little crease between his eyebrows begged to be kissed away, the frown marks on the corner of his lips needed to be licked, and if he didn't respond soon the wanting would over power her.

"Technically you've already fulfilled my best fantasy," he spoke gently, shifting from his sitting position to angle over her, dropping down against her. "I do have a few I'd like to do though if you're sure."

"What was your best fantasy first, and then I'll answer for sure."

He smirked down at her as his elbows rested above her shoulders, and his hands smoothed down her curly hair. "You should know that already. You tortured me," he whispered the last part, the look in his eyes becoming distant as he thought back to that time when they'd been apart. "Knowing you were meant to be mine, but not actually being able to have you. You were all I thought about and when I finally did have you it was indescribable, by far the best, most erotic fantasy I've ever or will ever have."

She smiled up at him, pleased with his answer and thoroughly surprised he'd managed to not berate himself for being so sweet. "I really love you Ash."

"I know."

For a moment, her thoughts went back to the matter of her pregnancy, something he'd been able to make her forget about without even knowing, without even trying. "Tell me you won't ever leave me," she whispered, her voice verging on desperation.

He leaned down, capturing her lips in a kiss so sweet it brought tears to her eyes, and when it was time for him to speak he pulled away just enough to form the words against her lips."You're stuck with me, whether you come to hate it or not."

That was one warning that she didn't feel threatened from and she hoped his answer would never change.

To be continued…

Main points to eventually happen:

Mare talks to James who talks to Poppy who does a spell that causes havoc (hilarity ensues) (supposed to happen in this chapter, but it didn't)

Thea finally comes in as a voice of reason, helping Poppy fix the spell, and they go to a vampire midwife.


	3. Chapter 3

Poll on my profile page to choose baby names!

Also, for those of you that don't like waiting and are interested in getting teasers, extras, or music that inspired some of my stories join my yahoogroup Writing on the Clouds, I'll post the link in my profile. When you join I should have something for chapter four to DDTT and something for Jezebel out shortly.

* * *

Are you interested in a L.J. Smith, fan fiction, gift exchange for the holidays?

::Details below::

From the Devil's Playground Forum, posted by Incanto (runs the LJSanta):

"I'm thinking of instituting like, an LJSanta street team so people who can't (or are afraid to) write a story can still participate in a smaller capacity.

Tentatively the agreement would be something like, you spend the weeks while LJSanta sign-ups are open promoting the hell out of it everywhere - forums, social media, wherever there are LJS fans - and in return for your hard work, I or another volunteer writes you a drabble-ish length short for LJSanta. You don't get as big a story as people writing their own, but you still get a little present as a thank you for helping us find people to join the fun.

Anyone interested in something like that?"

Please be interested! Reply to the forum if you are so they can apply this. Links for this will also be found in my profile. Of course, writers, clearly, are welcome! There will also be a link to check out previous participant.

* * *

Thanks to:

**iNessie** – there are a couple more chapters where Ash will be in the dark  
**xBlownxAway** – it's gonna be good when it does happen! *_-  
**Dantes-Silent-Huntress** – You're welcome, I figured I needed to start thanking reviewers. It doesn't happen often enough, and it's something I'm going to be working on…I'm glad it keeps getting better, hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint.  
**sprog101 **– I agree, dirty Ash is hot  
**Nightworld Fan** – I'm sorry about the wait. I wish I could update everyday! I hope you continue to enjoy the story after every chapter.  
**Dire Heart** – Not in this chapter, but in the next chapter Ash will know something is up. Mare probably won't full out tell him until after they're in Las Vegas, which is about two chapters maybe? Unfortunately, I'm just making up most of this as I go. I have no outline; I just knew I didn't want Ash to know right away.  
**Nightworld Fan** – If you're the same person I feel special, two reviews on one chapter! Thanks so much. I'll try to update faster, but as I said, I'm making it up as I go…in fact if anyone wants to give any suggestions or make any requests on how they want it to go it may help the story along quicker. I can't guarantee I'll do it, but anything will help!  
**1Dnumber1fan** – Hope you enjoy this chapter  
******WritingInPurpleInk1** –Thanks very much for taking the time to review!  
******tealplumeria** – Sneak peak's are meant to tease…aren't they great? *_-Hopefully the chapter was worth the wait!  
**KarmaDash** – Believe it or not I don't have an argument planned, in fact he'll be starting to notice subtle changes in her bodies chemistry with his vampire powers—I hope I didn't ruin it for anyone with that spoiler. I also plan on a special dinner for her to tell him.

My overall plan for this story was to have it at least seven chapters (may or may not happen) and to have the baby or babies fully born with names. Perhaps even a few chapters with Ash and ML taking care of them and/or interacting with them? I'll take suggestions.

This chapter is mostly dialogue.

Chapter Three:

"Descouedres residence."

Her heart stopped and her eyes widened at the formal tone in the man's voice, the butler, most likely. He was a man who could strike fear in the faint of heart with just his voice…or it could just be what she was calling for and that she was just a bit off her rocker now. Her heart was in her throat, her mouth full of cotton, oh yeah, she could do this.

"Hello?"

Mary-Lynnette cleared her throat nervously as she clutched the phone in her hand, "Um, hi."

All she had to do was ask Ash for James' phone number, she even had a potential connection with Poppy being a made vampire and all, but did she ask? Of course not, that would've been too easy. She could never take the easy way out, not Mary-Lynnette.

_Even my own sarcastic thoughts are getting on my nerves, _she thought as she chewed a hole into her bottom lip.

"May I help you?"

"James Rasmussen, please," she practically whimpered.

Mary-Lynnette rolled her eyes at the quivering sound in her voice and tried to refrain from vomiting into the receiver. She needed to cut herself some slack with the eye rolling at her ridiculousness because in her defense she had good reasons. They weren't only good reasons, they were the best reasons on the planet, a vampire baby fetus inside her couldn't get any better.

With the phone still in her hand, she quickly jumped up and down, staying in the same spot, as she patted her chest, trying to calm her nerves.

What the hell was the matter with her? It was just a phone call.

No, wait, she knew what was wrong, she was pregnant with a vampire! In reality the phone call was child's play, it was definitely the topic she was going to talk about, she was positive now. Not that she cared she was having a vampire baby as long as it didn't suck her blood dry, it was just, you know, the whole idea of actually _having_ a baby that freaked her out. Oh, and not to mention it could be double vamp city!

"Yo, this is James," a deep, smooth voice filled her ear.

Being lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard the ruffling of the phone switching hands. She didn't have time to figure out exactly what she was going to say and it was like she was experiencing stage fright. Her mouth dropped open, trying to force herself to mumble at best, but absolutely nothing escaped. She tried again.

Child hood trauma's surfaced in that instant and fear is a dangerous thing, so she simply blurted it out. "I'm pregnant."

_Take that fear! Fear is my bitch, not the other way around._

Her enthusiasm over her two-word outburst was short lived when silence followed. It's to be expected, the pure silence, and in this great opportunity for comic relief, a cricket chirping was not provided, although it was needed.

This guy's probably trying to remember if he'd gotten busy with some human girl before fully committing to his soul mate. He's thinking 'fuck, who did I fuck?' and 'how badly am I gonna die when Poppy finds out.'

"Hello? I asked you a question."

_Oh right, pay attention_, she chided herself.

"Y-yes, I'm pregnant," she stuttered again, feeling a little less like fear was a bitch of hers.

"Excuse me? Who is this?" the disbelief and slight irritation coming from his snappish tone was very, very clear, but surprisingly no panic. He must have been sure about Poppy even before he was actually with her.

_That's so sweet. _

"Are you going to tell me your name or is this a prank call?"

Fuck. A name would help and really, she's never prank called anyone before!

"Mary-Lynnette," and just to be sure she added, "Ash's _human _soul mate."

A whoosh of air whistled from the phone, the second bout of silence started, and she couldn't help but wonder if she'd missed the hint of panic in his voice, if that huge whoosh of air was relief. She really couldn't expect a man to wait for his soul mate, even if he grew up with her, as Ash had explained. The silence was grating her nerves though. Mary-Lynnette feared if it lasted any longer her teeth really would tear a hole into her lip.

"Are you sure?" he asked after another minute.

She frowned, tempted to pull the receiver from her ear and stare, her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Huh?"

He sighed softly. "Are you sure you're pregnant?"

"Oh, that, right. Yes, absolutely sure. I'm only a little pregnant."

James snorted loudly."You either are or you aren't."

"I'm fully pregnant, but maybe only a few weeks is what I meant," she explained.

"And what does Ash think about this?"

Mary-Lynnette chuckled, clearly in a state of denial over the situation. "You think I'm gonna tell him?"

"Um," there was a pause, "I'd like to think so, assuming he's the father."

"Well who the hell else would be?" Mary-Lynnette snapped a little more harshly than she intended, but here he was thinking generally the same thing she'd thought about him, only now it was directed at her. That was something she wouldn't stand for.

Irrational. Not his thought, her thought. Was it starting, those weird pregnancy emotions she'd read about? Was she becoming irrational and too emotional?

"I simply meant that if he wasn't then…"

"Stop, Ash is my first and only, but I'm not telling him. So I'm calling you," she added the last.

Her diarrhea of the mouth was about to be in full effect. She could feel the cramping accumulating around the sides of her lips.

She heard a tsking followed by a chuckle. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

It was a typical male response, why should she have been surprised? Being a vampire didn't make any difference, she should've known that.

"I-um because I don't know what to do," she practically whispered, hating herself for allowing her voice to tremble.

"Are you going to keep it?"

She let out another nervous yet hysterical laugh, gripped the phone tighter, and raised her free hand up to twirl a curl around her finger. "Them."

"What?"

"Twins, er-well, possibly."

"Holy fuck!" he cried out in surprise. "When Ash does something he does it through and through."

Mary-Lynnette let out a gasped laughed, pure disbelief jolting through her. "Did you really just say that?"

"Sorry," he responded sheepishly.

Mary-Lynnette couldn't imagine his face, she'd never met him, but she could figure out the expression and she tried to stifle her laugher. This was definitely not a time for it because honestly how could she think of laughing right now?

"Are you keeping _them_?"

"Of course, I just don't want to die."

"Okay, I'm not following," he informed her, sounding clearly confused.

"Being human and having vampire fetuses. Are they gonna suck me dry?" she asked, more calmly than she expected.

"That sounded really dirty, you realize that?" he asked amused.

"Oh come on. Am I going to die?"

"No! There are such things as mixed breeds where the human carrying them survives."

Mary-Lynnette gasped in horror. "Don't you call them that!" she yelled into the phone.

James cleared his throat, "My apologies. I don't know much about human and vampire offspring's, I do know it's possible and that the mother was fine in most cases," he said reassuringly.

"Most?" she raised an eyebrow, hoping he would elaborate.

He didn't.

_Mother fuck…_whoops, could she even curse anymore? Did they already have super hearing and teeth that would, no, she wouldn't go there.

"I can do some research. I have some witch friends…"

"Why not ask a vampire?"

James paused before answering. "Do _you_ know of a lamia vampire with a human soul mate that's pregnant? I said it happens, not that it happens often."

"Oh. What about Poppy, can't she get pregnant?"

"No, once she became a made vampire everything stopped. Her mortal life, her growth, and her reproduction cycle," he informed, somewhat like an afterthought or a build up to his real question. "Ash said he was changing you," his abrupt comment made her blink in surprise.

"Yeah and we will, but after. I just told him I wanted to wait, he was confused at first, but I think he may understand now."

"Jamie, are you talking to another girl?" The soft, almost childlike voice filled Mary-Lynnette's ears.

Her voice was hypnotic and playful at the same time. It gave Mary-Lynnette a creepy chill and she found herself wondering if the girl was as beautiful and deadly as she sounded.

"Hey Pop, it's Ash's soul mate. She's pregnant," James responded.

A scream pierced her ear drum and she jerked the phone away, staring at it with horror and disbelief.

"You have to come here! We'll go baby shopping, I'll even throw you a baby shower. It'll be great to finally meet the woman who completely changed Ash, even when you weren't with him. You do know he was like real evil before right? Like totally kidnapping evil?"

Mary-Lynnette bit her bottom lip vaguely recalling Ash mentioning a kidnapping ordeal, only he down sized so much.

"I didn't think he was that evil," she mumbled. "Just annoying."

"Well that too, but really sadistically evil," Poppy concluded.

"Hey!" Mary-Lynnette snapped. "Well your soul mates an ass!"

Poppy paused over line, but she distinctly heard a male snort of amusement. "Okay, I'm sorry for raggin' on your soul mate. Seriously though, you should come out."

"We kind of planned on it. You're a witch right?"

"…yes, why?"

"Well, maybe you could you know wave a wand and make sure all is good?"

"A wand? Please! We don't use wands, but there is a potion I remember seeing in Thea's Book of Shadows that guaranteed healthiness when in labor."

"So I won't die," Mary-Lynnette added with relief.

"Um, I don't think so. Jamie?"

"You will not die," he spoke in monotone.

"Don't be a jerk Jamie," Poppy scolded him.

"Babe-" he started.

Poppy made a shushing noise. "So Mare, can I call you Mare? When are you all coming over? I could use some more girl friends."

"Soon, if it's alright, honestly I'd like to leave tonight, but in reality probably by the end of the week."

"Fabulous, but I bet we can get Thierry to work his Night King mojo and pull some strings with the airport to get you over her by tomorrow afternoon."

"Night King? Is he a king?" Mary-Lynnette blinked with surprise, dropping her free hand to her chest.

"No, he's just a Lord on the Night World Council," James supplied. "Poppy just over exaggerates."

"Well, he reminds me of one of those nice kings that does everything he can for his wife and subjects," Poppy stuck up for herself.

"He's not married though," James informed, as if that piece of information was the reasoning behind his earlier statement.

Now was time to intervene, ask a question she'd been wanting to ask for awhile, though she'd never actually voiced it, not even to herself. She'd heard things, even with regular pregnancies that sometimes it was only allowed at certain stages of it. She needed to know, she wanted to know, Ash was just too sexy to resist for nine months. She'd been a virgin her whole life and then Ash with his suaveness and amazing tongue made her bloom into a lustful flower. Wouldn't it figure that it had to be taken away so soon?

"So, can I still have sex?" she asked cautiously.

Laughter from the soul mate couple was her only answer.

To be continued…

I'll put some Ash/Mare action in the next chapter. Trying to get things moved along, I think this may be longer than The Seven Deadly Sins. I'm getting some ideas brewing. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and please don't forget to comment.

Soon to come or main points that WILL happen:

Poppy does a spell that causes havoc (hilarity ensues)

Thea finally comes in as a voice of reason, helping Poppy fix the spell, and they go to a vampire midwife.

Ash is curious about the chemical changes he's noticed inside Mare's body and he can't seem to figure out why he hears three heart beats when he's around her.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to:

Dire Heart  
Sprog101  
KarmaDash  
Guest  
Nightworld fan

Thorchick1993  
Guest  
Nightworld fan – you should make an account…  
Silly13

An extra shout to those that are consistently reviewing each chapter, I really do appreciate it. A review is like the best sweet dessert, so be sure to do so, not just on my stuff, but on other stories you read. Even a published author like L.J. Smith or Kim Harrison likes to read a long detailed review praising their work or having something suggested to them. Trust me, I've done it and not only did I get a detailed response back, but I even got a signed trinket for it. I'm not saying I'll do that, or that anyone else will either, all I'm saying is any type of reviews (praise or constructive criticism), are golden.

Chapter Four:

Mary-Lynnette frowned as she placed the phone in the cradle, slightly upset that she hadn't gotten the answer she'd wanted, or rather an answer at all, just laughing, lots and lots of laughing.

She sighed and walked towards the couch to sit down, folding her right leg underneath her so she was sitting on her foot. Biting her nail as she thought about her current predicament, she thought she might have been a little ridiculous over the last question.

Was it really ridiculous though? Obviously, it wasn't the most important. Sure there were questions that needed to be asked, but in reality that specific question was only important when the threat of not getting any was hanging in the balance. Poppy and James just didn't understand the severity of the situation, or how badly Mary-Lynnette had wanted an answer.

Every time she saw Ash she wanted to throw him down and have her way with him, well, so long as he didn't get on her nerves, but then she'd just kick him in the shin since that was the best way to deal with him. Once she did that he'd be like a puppy dog, asking what he did wrong or what could he do to make it up to her.

Her answers were, as of late, were well received for the both of them, but now, safety with children came first.

"What am I going to do?" she mumbled to her stomach, before dropping a hand over it and rubbing soothingly.

What felt like an encouraging kick answered her, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"What the fu-" she stopped, cleared her throat, then continued, "-dge? No way am I that far along."

Granted she didn't know much, but two or three weeks into a pregnancy a baby couldn't have been more than an embryo.

"Kick again," she demanded her stomach.

When it happened again, in a once, then twice effort, she knew things were going to be heading south.

"Kiss me harder," he moaned, wrapping an arm around the back of her neck, his free hand trailing down until he got to her hips, where his fingers promptly dug in, holding her to him.

She felt the bed brushing against the back of her legs and with one more coaxing step her knees buckled, but instead of falling backwards together Mary-Lynnette pushed her hands out, keeping him from following.

_We'll crush them._ It was the only thought running through her head as she'd felt the air whooshing through her hair. When the feel of the cool sheets hit the bare skin of her neck, she managed to scuttle up the bed, frantically kicking at what she could touch off the ground.

Ash frowned in confusion, his eyes examining her face before he lankly dropped his lower half against hers, supporting himself with his arms on either side of her shoulders, and safely keeping him off her belly

"Are you okay?" he asked curiously. "Did I hurt you?"

"Mm hmm," she mumbled smiling nervously at him.

His mouth dropped open in horror and his eyes began to assess her body, searching. "What?"

Mary-Lynnette gave him a crooked grin and shook her head, realizing her mistake. "No, you didn't hurt me, I'm fine-I just, sideways?"

Ash raised an eyebrow.

She felt the heat rising in her cheeks at her rather unfulfilled comment. "I meant, um, positions. There are other positions we could try this in. So I was thinking sideways."

A lazy grin crept onto his face as he quickly realized what she was talking about, "Mare, I'll take you in any position you want. Hell, I'll get the book and we'll do all of them, twice," he smiled and bent his head to capture her lips in a quick, teasing kiss. "When you're a vampire we'll do them again and then make up our own."

If she hadn't already been lying down she would have fallen. Her legs felt like jelly and she felt her already rapid heartbeat escalate. She reached forward to stroke the side of his stubbly jaw and gently started running her thumb across his bottom lip.

When she felt the sting of tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, she tried to stop it by blinking rapidly, but simply gave in when the liquid drop slipped down.

_Emotional. With a capital 'E,'_ she thought angrily taking her hand away from his face to swipe impatiently at the tear.

"Um, are you-" Ash stopped and settled on her right side, pulling her with him so that they were facing each other, huddled together so closely that he was practically hugging her. "What's wrong?" he whispered against the lobe of her ear.

That did it. Her tears were full blown, pooling around eyes, spilling down, until her neck was damp. "I don't know what's wrong."

Only she did, but how could she tell him? They were both still so young and even though money wasn't an issue since Ash had inherited millions from Max, she still felt that her being pregnant would cause more issues than they could handle.

They had just started their relationship. Being soul mates was one thing, but they'd waited a whole year before even doing anything and within a half a year she's pregnant because they couldn't use protection? She didn't know how it worked with vampires, but in her world of humans, it wasn't exactly the best news ever, especially in small towns, where gossip is more popular than actual humanity.

Apparently, her crying hadn't much dampened his need as he leaned forward to lick up her neck, lapping at the wet trails of her tears. He paused at the curve of her jaw, gently nibbling up to her ear.

"Ash, I don't think I'm in the mood anymore," she managed.

A rumbling chuckle emitted from his mouth before he responded, "I can get you back into it," he whispered.

At first, she was tempted to let him try, but when he started going down, his elbow landed on her stomach and he pushed off to go down further. Her response was almost instant as she threw him off her, or rather as much as she could of him.

"Mare-what-why—"

Mary-Lynnette scowled up at him. "Just get off me," she cried out, noting the slight panic in her voice.

She couldn't tell him that she was afraid it would damage the babies, that it could possibly traumatize them too.

"I don't think we can do this anymore."

Ash's eyes widened and he followed her every move. "Um-you're not breaking up with me are you?" he asked so softly, she had to strain to hear.

Mary-Lynnette blinked, and then scoffed tossing her hair behind her shoulders. "NO! I meant, I don't think we can do the sex anymore."

"Define 'anymore,'" he requested.

"In terms of time, well it's debatable, but possibly a year," she said and then smiled up at him, hoping to soften the blow.

He resembled a fish as his mouth opened and closed. She could see in his eyes that he was searching for the right question, but knew he was too baffled at her comment to come up with any successfully.

"I'm at a loss for words," he finally managed.

Mary-Lynnette sighed heavily, completely distraught as she lifted herself up into a sitting position, "I know, it's a lot to take in."

"Why?"

Mary-Lynnette bit her lip, showing her uneasiness. "I can't tell you yet."

"Is this some type of human tradition?" he asked in a such a way that Mary-Lynnette knew he was trying to remain calm. "Like how you aren't supposed to have sex until your married? If that's it, let me just tell you..."

"No," she shook her head.

Ash exhaled through his nose and swiftly ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. "No, it's not a marriage thing?"

Mary-Lynnette wasn't stupid, even if she hadn't seen the opportunity right away, but she saw it now. She could make it about marriage.

"It is about marriage."

Ash snorted. "You aren't religious."

Mary-Lynnette slowly stood up, tossing her hair over her shoulders. "Who said anything about religion? I just heard that if you've had sex with you partner that if the couple decides to abstain until they get married the sex on the wedding night is ten times better." It wasn't a total lie, she _had_ read it somewhere.

"Are you serious?" he gasped out.

She nodded.

"Then we're getting married in Vegas."

Her mouth dropped open. She hadn't thought of that. "NO!" she cried out. "I want a big wedding," she tried remembering as she said if she'd already told Ash she wanted a small one.

She must've because he looked at her skeptically. "Really?" he asked, confirming his skepticism.

"Yes."

He pouted and she was surprised when he didn't stomp childishly. "I'm gonna die," he grumbled.

Mary-Lynnette smiled gently. "Stop pouting."

"I-" he paused for dramatic effect, "am not pouting. I do not pout."

Mary-Lynnette snorted as she tried to contain the chuckle before she stood up and went towards her door. She held her hand out, "come on, let's go look at a ghost donut," she chuckled, wiggling her fingers out to him, coaxing him to take her hand.

He smiled sheepishly. "I can't believe you remembered I called it that."

She shrugged, grinning back playfully. "It was the night I was almost turned into a vampire. It was the best and scariest night of my life."

"Our first kiss too," he supplied, walking lazily towards her.

"Oh yeah there was that too," she tried to speak seriously.

She couldn't help but feel slightly surprised the topic of them not having sex had been dropped so easily. She felt her worry slowly disappear because clearly they were more than just sex. They were soul mates.

"You don't remember _that _but you remember 'ghost donut'?"

When his hand finally fell into hers, she winked. "Come on gorilla, maybe you can give me another stick."

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Special thanks to amer'raepotter for reminding me about Jez.

Thanks to:

Desilove  
Kit-Pit  
RueRajaram  
SillyFairyGirl  
Nightworld Fan  
Veryviolinish  
KarmaDash  
Future Writer Girl  
UnderTheAlchemist  
Guest  
Dire Heart  
sprog101  
xBlownxAwayx

Chapter Five:

The flight to Vegas was uneventful and luckily she'd been tired enough to sleep the whole way, but by the time they'd gotten to Thierry's mansion Mary-Lynnette was wide awake and worried. It didn't help that when she flopped on the fluffy mattress in hopes of trying to get rid of her sudden migraine, that she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a red haired pixie looking female tiptoeing towards her. Before she even had time to react, the gorgeous woman launched herself towards Mary-Lynnette. Instinct took over and she curled into a ball thrusting one arm around her belly and the other over her face in defense only to feel the bed bounce her up slightly and dip at the new body on top of it.

"You're Mary-Lynnette," the red head stated.

As it registered just who this petite red head was she slowly let her arms fall. Ignoring the wave of embarrassment at her reaction, she examined the girl beside her, thinking on how the playful, almost childish tone in her voice matched her appearance well. "Poppy?"

"For sure," she grinned happily. "So how are you?" she asked looking pointedly at her only slightly rounded belly. "God, how far a long are you again? Should you even be showing this soon?"

She shushed Poppy, but then shrugged and placed a hand on her belly. She didn't really know the answer to either of those questions.

"Don't worry, you and me we're gonna find them out," Poppy seemed to have read her mind. "Ash is downstairs helping Nielson unpack the limo, by the way. Just talk low, vampire hearing and all," she added the last part as if she just remembered Ash was a vampire.

"Well I'm sure I'm not too far along, the doctor said so," she started only to pause when Poppy nodded with exaggerated enthusiasm. The girl was desperately trying to get her to the point. Mary-Lynnette was pretty sure Poppy was more excited about the situation she was in than herself. "Well, it's odd really."

"Oh you're killing me. Spit out, I know something's off with the rhythm of your body. I can't believe Ash hasn't noticed, there are three heartbeats around you. So tell me!" Poppy hurried her with hand motions while, bouncing on the bed.

Mary-Lynnette swallowed. "I can feel them move and not just move, but like full blown kick, and that's not normal. It can't be."

Poppy nodded, highly curious as she put her hand to Mary-Lynnette's stomach without asking permission. It was a little awkward when she saw humans touching other human bellies, but when a vampire touched your stomach, you didn't move, you didn't protest, not even a little bit.

Then suddenly the fear she felt creeping into her disappeared as the seriousness on Poppy's face melted into a shocked expression followed by pure happiness as she felt the kicking. "That's not normal," she whispered, grinning from ear to ear. "At least not for a human gestation period, but clearly things are progressing. Ash is so daft, a stupid gorilla."

Mary-Lynnette smirked at the animal reference she always compared Ash too and shrugged. "I've kept him away from me as much as I could. It's really now easy either. Can males be in heat?"

Poppy cringed. "So no sex? Eek! I remember you asked, but I still don't really know. It's healthy for human females when they're pregnant. I'd be too worried to assume the same with a vampire pregnancy. Jez will be here soon; hopefully she can answer all the questions."

"Wh-who is Jez?"

"A vampire who had a human parent," Poppy supplied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"It does happen then?" Mary-Lynnette released a sigh of relief.

"Jamie told you it did. Hopefully-" she was cut off by the knocking on the door and before either had time to answer another red head came in.

Jezebel was almost the exact opposite of Poppy. Where Poppy was short and had an impish cuteness that was irresistible, Jez was almost animalistic in her appearance. Dangerously gorgeous, with a set of eagle eyes that saw everything, Jez was clearly a born hunter who'd been one for a long time. The way they carried themselves was like night and day and for a moment Mary-Lynnette felt frightened. She remembered how she first felt when she'd found out vampires existed, it was a fear she hadn't felt in a while, but clearly it wasn't dead.

Jez cocked her head to the side and frowned slightly. "You don't need to be afraid of me."

"I think I can't help it," she mumbled.

"I understand," she nodded, and then averted her eyes to Mary-Lynnette's belly. "You really are pregnant with twins," she added with an awe that made Mary-Lynnette blink.

"Haven't you ever seen this?" she asked confused.

Jez shook her head. "I've heard of it. I'm living proof, but lamia don't procreate with humans…normally. It's just not done. It's very looked down upon in the Night World," she paused and gifted the girls with a smirk to die for. "Luckily for you we're different."

"If you don't know anything about it, how are you going to answer my questions?"

Jez blinked rapidly and turned her attention to Poppy. "So that's why you asked me here? I thought you just wanted have a girls night with the new pregnant addition. I can't answer anything for you, unfortunately."

Mary-Lynnette felt a stinging in her eyes as tears pooled down her cheeks suddenly. "What the hell?" she cried. "I never cry," she whimpered.

Poppy patted her on the back. "Baby hormones are pregnant hormones."

"I just want to know if they're healthy or if I'm going to die from this," Mary-Lynnette managed through sobbing gasps.

"They sound healthy."

The door burst open, hitting Jez in the back. "What have you done to her?" Ash's voice was soft, but anyone could hear the warning in his tone as he eyed both Poppy and Jez.

"Oh, Ash, nothing. I'm just emotional. You guessed it, that time of month and all."

His ever changing eyes shifted towards her, taking in her appearance and for a second his eyes rested on her stomach before lifting back to her face. He smiled gently, nodding as he started to leave.

Did he know? Had he figured it out? Should she just tell him?

"Ash…" Mary-Lynnette called, seriously thinking about spilling everything.

"Yeah babe?"

That cute, playfully boyish smile he gave made her voice catch in her throat and she licked her lips. Shaking her head she shooed him away with her hands. With one last smile he carefully shut the door.

She released a deep breath and pressed her hand to her frantic heart beat.

"I think he knows and is just waiting for her to tell him," Jez supplied, folding her arms across her chest as she turned from the door and glided towards the bed to sit at the edge.

Poppy shook her head. "Nah, Ash is pretty dense."

"He looked at my stomach and Poppy he's not as stupid as you think he is," Mary-Lynnette informed her, hoping the defensive tone wasn't too rude.

Poppy shrugged. "Maybe not originally, but if you've been withholding sex when he's finally had you after a year of being away from you, he isn't thinking right. Trust me, as a soulmate that's had to wait, I know!"

"Did you stop thinking when James was around you?" Jez asked surprise. "I was under the impression you were a brat."

Poppy scowled and looked at Jez with accusation in her eyes. "You've been talking to Phil. That dirty twat…Phil, not you Jez," she added.

"Um, who's Phil?"

"My witching twin brother," Poppy snorted with outrage.

Mary-Lynnette frowned. "Did you say bitching twin?"

"Nope, I said witching. We're witches too. Oh! I could do a spell for you!" Poppy started, happily pouncing with excitement.

Nausea nearly took her breath away at the movement and before she even had time to think, Mary-Lynnette leapt from the bed and darted for the bathroom. Unfortunately, she hadn't had much of an appetite and had chosen not to eat anything on the way here. Dry heaving into a fancy white toilet was definitely not how she wanted to spend her afternoon.

To be continued…

It took long, I know, and this chapter is short. I'm working on the next chapter now. Already got about a page done…look for the magic gone wrong in the next chapter, for sure this time.


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